Vegetable slicer



April 15, 1952 J. J. STRAND 2,592,832

VEGETABLE SLICER Snventor m m (Ittorneg April 15, 1952 J. J. STRAND2,592,332

'VEGETABLE SLICER Filed oct. 25, 194s 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Snventorygvvd-/httorneg Patented Apr. 15, 1952 UNITED.: STATES PATENT? OFFICEVEGETABLE SLICER' John J.Strand, Ansonia, Conn., assigner to'. The

Strand Brothers" Manufacturing Company, In'- corporated, Derby, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Application October 23, 1948,' SerialNo.^56,217l l 8 claims. (ci. 14e-78)v ment for slicing ther potatoor'the like into squaresl orrectangular-strips or'stic'ks" for Frenchfried potatoes-r A furtherobject is to providea structure of thischaracter-"which may be'read-ily and `easily cleaned.V

Still-another Objectis to provide an 4improved operating means for'thereciprocating :support forrthe vegetable whichflwill provide `ayfull and rapid movement with littleeort on Athe part of thefoperatorandithusfprovide `easy and rapid operation.

With vtheioregoing 'and other objectsl in view;;

I have'devised theconstruction illustrated in the accompanying-'drawingsforming "a part of this specification.' It is,fhowever, toA be:understood theinventionfis not-limited to thespecilicl details 'ofconstruction `and arrangement shown; butmay embody Variouschanges `andmodications within the 4scope ofthe invention.

In these drawings:v

Fig. .1 is a top;plan` viewof thedevice arranged for slicing the.vegetable-in square or rectangular slices, stripsor'sticks such, forexamplefas slicing potatoes for FrenchA fries Fig. ..2 is a sideelevation looking toward the bottom of Fig`. 1;

Fig. 3 isa longitudinal vertical. section substan-v tiallyon the line.3--3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an. end view looking from. the right of Figs. 1, 2 and 3;.

Fig. 5 isa detailr transverse section of the slide andslicingmeans ofFigs. 1 to.3, and

Fig.` 6 is a .longitudinal section similar to Fig.'

3 ,showing the device arranged for slicing the vegetablelin .thinslicesffor making, for example scalloped potatoes-Vor .potatochips Thedevice comprises a base or frame structure I0', preferably comprisingupright sheet metall side.. members of suitable gauge or thicknessYrequired forLethe necessary. strength andstiffnesa,

by laterallylextending.:bars or ystraps, I3l securedV to the anges. I2by.. any 'suitable means, preferably by passing them through. openingsor slots I4 in theside members. and welding theml to the tops. of `theHangesIZ..V At theirupper edges the side members II. are .laterally bentinward as shown .at I5Fto provide. supportingV guides for alongitudinally reciprocating slide I6 which is retained against lateralmovement on .these guides by upright sideplates .I 1. extending abovetheside plates I I and. secured theretoby Weldingor other suitablemeans.. these. plates .bein'g-` also `connected byv a transverseuprightbar. section I8 which. mayv be an integral .part ofstheplate I1. Thisstructure. holds. theupperedgesof the side plates in denite relation.-and. adds=strength and stiffnessto the supportingabaseorframe.

The slide I6 ispreferably formedof proper gauge. relatively heavy sheetmetal, and .includes a bottom .plate I9. and upright side llanges 20 toguideitagainst the-inner sides of the plates I'I.

Itisreciprocated back and. forth in a longitudi-f naLdirection by.v an.improved form of operating means which-is simple andv eiective inconstruction Aand .which will v reciprocate the slide in the slicing.operation rapidlyA and` with little effort on thepart of theoperator.This improved operat ing=meansis locatedin :the base or frame I0between-.the upright side. members II and lbeneath theslide-IB. fIt-.comprsesa transverse shaft 2In mounted adjacent the ,lower edges`olf-the side.

members II andfsupportedin these members for turning.movement.V .Mountedon this shaft by any suitab1emeans,..,such -aswelding them to it,-

is. oneormore. curved sectors 22. These may-be a singlesector of theproper Width, or, as shown, maycomprise two separate' sectors, but theoperationisthe same inv either case. Secured to one straight'side ofoneisectorbyany suitable means,

such Vasa bolt.23, is-a flexible strap 24,-secured atf its-other-orfreeend'` toV the bottom Wall of thek slide I-6.-.Itmay besecuredfby-anysuitable means, but a 4simple and-preferred construction vis tovlancer-and bend downwardly from'this bottom.'

wall a :lug 25v with 'its free end extending away from-the sector toformV a'hook overwhich the freeend of the istrap. 24fmay-be hookedrbymeans of-a hole fin the strap.. This :liexible strap is preferablya flatnarrow stripy of metal... A similar ilexiblestrip'ZG is fastened at-21to the opposite straight side 28: of' the-other-sectonand extendedlin"theoppositepdirection and secured in the ysame, manner by a similarhooked flug: 29. lanced andv bent downwardly from the? bottom of.the-slide and facing. in .theoppcsite direction." Therefore, sa*itwil-l be evident-.that by turning: the shaft12l.. to'

oscillate or swing the sectors back and forth as viewed in Figs. 2, 3and 6, these flexible straps 24 and will reciprocate the slide i6 backand forth with a speed substantially equal to the speed of movement ofthe curved portions 39 of these sectors, and that the flexible strapswill fold onto these curved portions as they move back and forth. Theshaft may be operated by any suitable means, but a simple lever andhandle arrangement has been found very effective. That shown comprises asimple lever SI secured to one end of the shaft at 32 and extendingbeyond the rear end of the base portion' and provided with a hand grip33.

Mounted for vertical adjustment upon the upright bar I8 is an abutmentor backing plate 34.

This is preferably mounted on the rearsidev of the y bar I8, and isprovided with upright elongated Y slots 35 through which pass securingand clamping screws 36. By this means the plate 34 may be adjusted todifferent heights and readily clamped in any adjusted position. It isprovided with a forwardly extending flange 31 at its top edge and in itslower edge is provided with a series of upright laterally spaced slotsor notches 38 for passage of certain slicing blades 39, as will be laterdescribed.

Mounted on the slide I6 forwardly of theabutment plate 34 is ahorizontal slicing blade 40. This blade is spaced above the bottom wallof the slide I6 and preferably mounted on the side flanges 20 of theslide to which it may be secured by downwardly extending end walls 4Iand secured to the slide by any suitable means, such, for example, aswelding or soldering, and is arranged with its cutting edge 42 facingtoward the backing plate or abutment 34.

Associated with the slicing blade 40 is a gauge plate which also forms asupport for the vegetable being sliced, a vegetable, such as a potato,`being indicated at 43. When slicing the vegetable, such for example as apotato, into square or rectangular long pieces or sticks, as forexample, when slicing for preparation of French fries, this gauge plateand support for the vegetable, as shown in Figs. l to 5, comprises afiat plate 44 supported by and resting on the bottom wall I9 of theslide I6, and at its rear edge or just 4below and irnmediately in frontof the slicing blade 40, is provided with a series of laterally spacedupright knife blades 39. These are relatively narrow blades with theircutting edges formed on their upright edges 45, and they are spacedlaterally across the plate 44 at the desired distance wanted for thewidth of the stick to be cut from the vegetable, their top edgespreferably being substantially on the level of the slicing blade 4I).These blades may be formed and secured to the plate 44 in any suitablemanner, but in the structure shown they each comprise a fiat strip ofsteel or any suitable material of proper thickness and bent up tosubstantially U-shape, as shown in Fig. 5, with the upright portions orlegs of the U forming the blades 39 inserted through slots 46 in theplate 44 from the under side, and then the connecting bar 41 secured tothis plate by any suitable means, such, for example, as soldering orwelding. This is a very simple and effective means for forming theseblades. In mounting this plate 44 and the knives 39 on the slide I6. itmerely rests on the top of the bottom plate I9 of the slide between theside flanges 20, and it is held against longitudinal movement on theslide by means of a cooperating pin and opening on the plate and theslide. In the structure shown a pin 48 is secured to the plate 44 andextends downwardly therefrom adjacent its outer end and passes throughan opening in the bottom wall I9 of the slide I3. No other attachingmeans is required and by such an arrangement the plate 44 is easilyremoved by merely lifting it from the slide, and it is as easily andquickly returned and mounted in the slide when desired. Plate 44 alsoforms a support or gauging plate for the vegetable indicated at 43 todetermine the thickness of the strips or sticks cut from the vegetable,and it will be seen from Figs. 1 to 5 that on reciprocation of the slideI6 after placing the vegetable between the blades 39 and the backingplate 34, these knives 39 and also the slicing blade 40 will be forcedthrough `the vegetable, providing a series of laterally spaced uprightcuts transversely through the lower portion of the vegetable formed bythe blades 39, while the horizontal slicing blade 4I) will cut a.horizontal cut through the vegetable at the tops of these vertical cutsof av height depending on the distance of the plate 44 below the blade40. Thus rectangular or square pieces or sticks are cut from the lowerpart of the vegetable and will pass out to the left under the slicingblade 40. As the upright blades 39 are in alignment with the slots 38 inthe lower edge of the backing plate 34 they can pass into these slotswithout hitting the plate and will permit the cutting edge of theslicing blade 40 to pass entirely through the vegetable.

If it is desired to cut only thin slices from the vegetable, as, forexample, in cutting slices for making scalloped potatoes or potatochips, the gauging plate supporting the vegetable is spaced higher abovethe bottom wall I9 of the slide IE. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig.6, in which the gauging plate 49 is similar to the plate 44, except thatit is not provided with the upright cutting blades 39 but is providedwith lugs 50 on its under side supporting it at the proper distanceabove the bottom wall I9 of the slide so as to locate the top orsupporting surface of this plate at a suitable distance below thecutting edge 42 of the slicing blade 40 and at the proper distance belowthis cutting edge, as indicated in Fig. 6, for the proper thickness ofthe thin slices to be cut from the vegetable. This operates the same asthe first form to cut the thin slices from the bottomvof the vegetablewhich slides pass to the left under the slicing blade 40. The supportingor spacing lugs 59 may be formed in any suitable way, but are preferablyformed by lancing them from the plate 49 and bending them downwardly tothe right angle position. Any suitable number may be provided, but it ispreferred to have one adjacent each of the four corners of the plate. Tohold the plate 40 against longitudinal movement on the bottom wall I9 ofthe slide, a pin 5I corresponding to the pin 48 is secured to the plate49 and seats in the opening in wall I9. This plate may be easily andquickly removed the same as the plate 44 by merely lifting it from theslide and withdrawing the pin 5I from the opening in the slide, the sameas in removing the plate 44. Either plate may be as easily and quicklymounted on the slide, depending on which type of slicing operation isintended to be performed.

This structure makes a very simple and effective device for performingthese slicing operations, and one that may be very easily and quicklychanged from one to the other by the housewife or anyone not familiarwith mechanf amasser:

s ical devices, andthe device isftherefore particularlyadapted for`household use.

Having thus set forth the nature of myV invention, I clamL.

1. A vegetable slicer comprising a base frame including laterally spacedupright side members provided-with guide -means adjacent their-upperedges, a vegetable supporting slide `mounted for longitudinalreciprocating movementj ini said guide means, a transverse slicingbladevcarried by thelslide for slicingthe-vegetables, an Vupright transverse`abutment carried yby the frame above thel slide, to hold-the-vegetableswhilebeing slicedya shaftbelew Athe slide and mountedein the=-sidemembers, curved segment means carried by the shaft, flexible strapssecured to the segment means to move alternately and simultaneously toand from a position on the curved portion of the segment means onoscillation of said means and extending in opposite directions therefromand secured to the slide at their free ends on opposite sides of theshaft, and means for oscillating the shaft to reciprocate the slide.

2. A vegetable slicer comprising a base frame including laterally spacedupright side members provided with guide means adjacent their upperedges, a vegetable supporting slide mounted for longitudinalreciprocating movement in said guide means, vegetable slicing cuttermeans carried by the slide, an abutment forwardly of said cutter meanscooperating therewith to hold a vegetable being sliced, a transverseshaft below the slide, sector means comprising curved outer rim surfacesmounted on the shaft, flexible bands secured one each to opposite sidesof the sector means and extending over the curved surfaces in oppositedirections and secured to the slide at their free ends on opposite sidesof the shaft, and means for turning the shaft to reciprocate the slide.

3. In a vegetable slicer including a longitudinally reciprocable slide,a gauge plate forming a support for a vegetable to be sliced andprovided with a series of laterally spaced slots adjacent one end, aseries of substantially U-shaped blade members of which the laterallyspaced legs form upright cutting blades, and said members being mountedon the under side of the plate with the legs extending upwardly throughthe slots from the lower side of the plate and with the connecting barof the U-shaped member secured to the plate.

4. A vegetable slicer comprising a base frame provided with guide means,a slide mounted in the guide means for back and forth movement andincluding a bottom wall and upright longitudinal side flanges at itsopposite edges, an upright backing plate above and extendingtransversely over the slide, a transverse horizontal slicing knife bladecarried by the slide in front of the backing plate, an easily removablesupporting plate for the vegetable to be sliced resting on and over saidbottom wall in front of the knife blade between the side flanges andcooperating with the blade to determine the thickness of the slice,easily detachable cooperating means on the supporting plate and slide tocause the plate to move with the slide comprising a pin on the plateextending into an opening in the slide, said pin and opening comprisingthe sole means of securing the plate to the slide so that the plate maybe removed by merely lifting it from the slide, and means forreciprocating the slide to slice a vegetable on the supporting plate.

5.: A vegetablev slicercomprisingya l'base'eirame provided.. withA guidemeans, Aza 'slide lmounted, in the guidameansfor back Iandforthgmovement and comprising a bottomplate,.. an upright-'backingplatewabove and,..extending transversely Vof theffrst plate, atransverse horizontal,` slicing.

blademounted von the Aslideabove the bottom plate, an easily removablegauging platemounted ori-the bottom :plate in frontiofthe-blade andprovidinga .support forf-a vegetable tombe sliced,

a cooperatingfpin andv opening Aongthe bottomY plate and gauge plate tocause the-gauge plate to move with the slide and permit easy removal ofthegaugeplate, said pin and opening forming the sole means of securingthe plate to the slide so that the plate may be removed by merelylifting it from the slide, a series of upright laterally spaced knifeblades carried by the gauging plate below the slicing blade and securedto and removable with said gauging plate, and means for reciprocatingthe slide to slice a vegetable on the gauging plate.

6. A vegetable Slicer comprising a base frame comprising laterallyspaced upright sheet metal plates provided with inwardly directed angeson their upper edges, a slide mounted for reciprocating movement on saidflanges and including a bottom plate, upright guide plates mounted onthe rst plates and extending above said l anges providing guide meansfor the edges of the slide, a transverse horizontal slicing bladecarried by the slide, a transverse bar connecting the guide plates overthe slide, an upright transverse backing plate carried by the bar, meansmounting said backing plate for vertical adjustment, a gauge platemounted on the slide forwardly of the slicing blade forming a supportfor a vegetable to be sliced, and means for reciprocating the slide.

'7. A vegetable slicer comprising a base frame including laterallyspaced upright sheet metal side plates provided with supporting guidesat their upper edges, a slide mounted on said guides comprising a bottomplate and upright side flanges at its opposite edges, a horizontaltransverse slicing blade carried by the slide and spaced above thebottom plate, an upright transverse backing plate above the slide, aneasily removable gauging plate carried by the slide between the sideanges in front of the slicing blade, said gauging plate providing asupport for a vegetable l to be sliced and provided with a series ofupright laterally spaced cutting blades below the slicing blade securedto and removable with said plate, said gauging plate resting on thebottom plate of the slide and secured thereto by a pin on the gaugeplate seated in an opening in the bottom plate, said pin and openingforming the sole means of securing the gauge plate to the bottom plateso that it may be removed by merely lifting it from the bottom plate,and means for reciprocating the slide.

8. A vegetable slicer comprising a base frame provided with guide means,a slide mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement in said guidemeans and comprising a bottom plate, a horizontal transverse slicingblade carried by said slide spaced above the bottom plate, an easilyremovable gauging plate resting on the bottom plate forwardly of theslicing blade, means securing the gauging plate against longitudinalmovement on the bottom plate comprising a pin on the rst plate seated inan opening in the bottom plate, said pin and opening forming the solemeans of securing the gauge plate to the bot- 7 8 tom plate so it may beremoved by merely lifting REFERENCES CITED 1t from the bottom plate,said gauging Plate The following references are of record in the forminga support for a vegetable to be sliced, a f hseries of upright laterallyspaced cutting blades le o t 1s patent' carried by the gauging platebelow and at the 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS forward edge of the slicingplate and secured to Number Name Date and removable with the gaugingplate, an up- 168,033 Lohr Sept. 21, 1875 right transverse backing platemounted for ver- 352,451 Cribb Nov. 9, 1886 tical adjustment above theslide and provided 653,385 Howell et Ial July 10, 1900 with a series ofupright notches in its lower edge 10 757,360 Stevens Apr. 12, 1904 inalignment with the upright blades, and means 901,624 Krabill OC. 20,1908 for reciprocating the slide. 1,255,013 Ireland Jan. 29, 19181,397,469 Vaughn Nov. 15, 1921 JOHN J, STRAND. 1,827,977 Erl Oct. 20,1931 15 2,274,625 Van Berkel Feb. 24, 1942

